Object identifier

1. An object identifying apparatus comprising: an image capturing unit that is mounted on a vehicle for acquiring an original image by capturing the original image while the vehicle is traveling; a data generator for successively integrating pixel values of integration object images representing feature quantities at respective pixels that make up the original image, from a starting point at either one of angular positions of the integration object images, thereby generating integral images, each including an image area having a size in common with the original image and the integration object images; a data acquirer for acquiring compressed data by extracting at least every other pixel along at least one direction from a plurality of pixels that make up the integral images generated by the data generator; an identification object region determiner for determining an identification object region from within an original image area represented by the original image; and an object identifier for calculating a total of the pixel values of the integration object images within the identification object region that was determined by the identification object region determiner, as an image feature quantity using the compressed data acquired by the data acquirer, and on the basis of the image feature quantity, identifying whether or not an object exists within the identification object region in the original image, wherein the image feature quantity is represented by a histogram.

2. The object identifying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the identification object region determiner determines the identification object region, which includes at least four pixels at vertices thereof, selected respectively from pixel groups extracted as the compressed data.

3. The object identifying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the data acquirer acquires the compressed data by reducing the amount of data of each of the pixels of the integral images by at least one bit.

4. The object identifying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein if the identification object region determiner determines the identification object region, and the object identifier identifies the object ( 66 ) while a position of the identification object region is changed sequentially along a scanning direction at a scanning interval, thereby identifying whether or not the object ( 66 ) exists within the original image, the identification object region determiner determines the identification object region at a different scanning interval depending on a position in the original image area.

5. The object identifying apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising: an image capturing unit mounted on a vehicle for acquiring an image in a vicinity of the vehicle by capturing the image while the vehicle is traveling, wherein the scanning interval in a lower position in the original image area, which is represented by the captured image acquired as the original image by the image capturing unit, is greater than the scanning interval in an upper position in the original image area.

6. The object identifying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the integration object images are represented by binary voting data, which-indicate whether each pixel of the original image belongs to any one of ranges of the histogram.

7. An object identifying apparatus comprising: an image capturing unit that is mounted on a vehicle for acquiring an original image by capturing the original image while the vehicle is traveling; a data generator for successively integrating pixel values of integration object images representing feature quantities at respective pixels that make up the original image, from a starting point at either one of angular positions of the integration object images, thereby generating integral images, each including an image area having a size in common with the original image and the integration object images; a data acquirer for acquiring compressed data by extracting at least every other pixel along at least one direction from a plurality of pixels that make up the integral images generated by the data generator; an identification object region determiner for determining an identification object region from within an original image area represented by the original image; and an object identifier for calculating a total of the pixel values of the integration object images within the identification object region that was determined by the identification object region determiner, as an image feature quantity using the compressed data acquired by the data acquirer, and on the basis of the image feature quantity, identifying whether or not an object exists within the identification object region in the original image, wherein the integration object images are represented by binary voting data.